STEPPING into the airy Royal Courts of Justice in central London provides immediate respite from the blazing summer sun. But upstairs, in the stuffy courtrooms lined with old bookshelves, the heat is palpable. Judges and barristers sweat beneath their curly horsehair wigs and black robes. In one room, these are set aside, because the judge has decided to have the hearing “unrobed” on account of the heat.
Reforms in the past decade have done away with barristers’ wigs and robes in most civil cases, and even at the Supreme Court. But the antiquated costume is still in use for a hotch-potch of court proceedings, including all criminal cases and appeals. Its drawbacks are evident, even on cooler days. The wigs are itchy, especially for those with thinning hair. And they must be kept close to hand, for occasionally a barrister may face a sudden situation in which a wig and a robe are required, says Joyce Arnold, a barrister at One Essex Court chambers....Continue reading
from Britain https://ift.tt/2lYfzKa
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